Gryffindor or Slytherin?
by OOT Obssessed
Summary: Draco and Hermione were enemies, so why did Draco feel a sudden need to be good for her, and could it possibly make her change her mind about him? Would Hermione fall for Draco and leave Ron heartbroken? What ties are cut and what bonds are made?
1. Confusion

Hermione and Draco:

HERMIONE'S POV:

The light streamed in from the thickly draped windows. There was a small sliver of an opening in the curtains that was positioned to where it only woke me. Of course.

I sighed and stood up, shivering when my bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. Everyone would be waking up soon. Only 30 minutes till it was time for everyone to get up. I got dressed quickly, brushed through my hair and threw it up into a ponytail, leaving the short front part out and hanging over the sides of my face. I pulled on my shoes and walked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind me. I was planning on going to the library and studying some before it was time for everyone to head to the dining hall for breakfast. I tiptoed down the stairs, not wanting to wake anyone.

When I got to the common room, I heard muffled snoring. 'Oh, Ronald.' I smiled, wondering how any of the boys could sleep through that. I walked out of the door and went straight to the library.

The library was always open (except for after curfew). I pulled out a book and pulled out my wand, studying some spells. After a couple attempts at making my shoe turn into a bird, I got it to work. I was concentrating so hard on the spells in the few minutes I had been flipping through the pages that I didn't notice the footsteps that walked closer to the aisle of books I was on and then stopped.

"Ahem," I heard a male voice. I jumped and turned around to see Draco Malfoy, the most detestable Syltherin at Hogwarts standing there smiling at me. Why was he smiling?

"What do you want, Draco?" I asked coldly, turning to put the book back on the shelf.

He shook his head and said, "Nothing, I woke up early and decided to come study for my transfiguration test this week and I heard someone so I came to see who it was. Should've known it would be you, Granger."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, ready to go to another book aisle if it was necessary to get away from him.

"Hey, I get it, you want to study. So I'll, uh… Leave you to it." He said, sounding awkward and nice and completely out of character.

I just nodded and kept my back to him.

He walked past me and went to the aisle across from me before walking to the aisle in front of that one. I tried to ignore the sound of him looking through the hundreds of ancient books and looked for my own. I found one that was on wizard history. Just one small fraction of it, of course; there was much too much history in the wizarding world for it to all be recorded in just one book.

I became absorbed in my studies, so Draco once again startled me when he showed up at the end of the aisle I was in. I looked at him like I was impatiently waiting for him to answer a question. The question I had for him was something like, "What the hell do you want you psycho creep?" Of course, I didn't say anything, I just kept watching him, thinking maybe he was on some kind of illegal drug.

He just stood there and then eventually jumped and looked as if I had brought him out of some kind of reverie. "Oh, umm… Its time for breakfast." And then he walked off. Why was he being nice all of a sudden? Maybe my drug assumption hadn't been so far off.

I put the book up, picked up my wand and ran after him, wanting to decode his strange behavior. "Malfoy!" I yelled, running after him.

DRACO'S POV:

I walked off, hoping she hadn't thought anything about me was weird this morning.

"Malfoy!" I heard her call to me.

I stopped and turned, working to put a sneer on my face. She took one look at my expression and took an involuntary step back.

"What…" She started to say and then decided she didn't care and started walking again. "Why were you being so nice earlier?"

I looked at her as if I didn't understand.

"You didn't once call me a mud blood, and you even reminded me of the time so I wouldn't be late." She finished, looking at me with an expression that made it clear she thought I had lost every bit of my mind.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, looking straight ahead. Why had I been so nice? I didn't even know.

She made a sound of disbelief in her throat and sped up, walking faster. But not in time to walk through the doors of the dining hall without looking like she was walking with me. As the door swung open, all eyes turned to watch us. Everything was completely silent. We both kept our eyes straight ahead, trying to make it obvious that we were not walking together.

I tried to insult her loud enough for everybody to hear so they would know for sure that we weren't walking together on purpose. "Stupid filthy mud blood."

She looked at me with such hatred. It made my stomach hurt to look at her, so I looked away as I sat down. But not before I saw the jealousy in Weasel's eyes.

HERMIONE'S POV:

I sat down, despising Draco Malfoy and wishing he would just go somewhere else, or maybe even not have been born at all. I slammed my books onto the table as everyone in the dining hall burst into obnoxiously loud conversation. I hadn't been unaware of the silence as Draco and I walked into the hall. I knew what everyone had thought. They had thought Draco and I had been late TOGETHER… They thought Draco and I had been walking TOGETHER… They thought we were suddenly TOGETHER!

"So, what were you doing with Malfoy?" Ron said, trying (and failing horribly) to cover his irritated tone with nonchalance.

"Nothing. I was in the library and Draco came in and when I lost track of time through all of my studying, he reminded me of the time. He was being oddly nice today, besides the mud blood comment, but other than that, he hasn't called me one mean thing all morning and he was actually being nice." I said, poking some eggs onto a fork and setting them on my tongue. I hadn't really been paying attention to what I had been saying (I hadn't had no need to, I wasn't hiding anything from Harry or Ron) so I had probably sounded distracted.

"Oh." was all Ron said.

Just then, Lavender walked up. The girl infuriated me. "Hello, Won Won." Ugh! So did that nickname!

"Hello, Lavender." Ron said in a tone that made me wonder if he was getting tired of her, too.

I looked across the table at Harry and he shared a look with me that told more about his annoyance with the pathetic girl than he let on. We sat there awkwardly as Lavender launched into an animated story with Ron barely listening from the sound of his detached "hmm"s.

Soon, I decided I would go back to the common room and get my books for my first class: Charms. I was walking down the stairs when I heard a familiar (and irritating) voice.

"Granger!" Draco called.

I stopped and slowly turned around to see him running up to me smiling. What was his problem?

"Would you mind very much if I walked with you?" Yep, definitely on drugs.

"Actually, I prefer walking alone." I said coldly, expecting him to pull something unspeakably horrible in his time alone with me. He would probably cast a spell on me and make something horrible happen to me. It was Draco, the possibility wasn't that unbelievable.

I started walking again and he stepped in front of me, still smiling. He must really be eager to do whatever it was he was planning to do to me; the only time I had ever seen him smiling was when he was picking on some helpless little kid. But even then it was a sneer, a cold humorless shadow of a smile. Now he looked… Happy?

"Wait. Why not?" He asked.

"Why not? Draco, you've tried to curse me and my friends more times than I can count. I don't trust you. You're my enemy." I didn't say it in a mean way, I said it logically. But his smile fell a tiny bit. Then perked right back up. What was it now?

"What if I pinky promise not to do anything? I never break a pinky promise. Never." He said it with such intensity, I almost believed him.

Then I remember everything he had done to us in the past. He held his pinky up, waiting for mine to wrap around his and seal the deal. I decided to let him walk with me. What was the worst he could do? And even if he did try anything, I would be on my guard.

I lifted my pinky and held him to his word, rolling my eyes. He smiled even bigger and then fell into step beside me.

We both had the same first class. Oh, great, I would get to put up with his sudden and kind of scary perky attitude for another hour.

We had only walked a few steps when I decided to ask him, "Why do you want to walk with ME? You hate me."

He took a second to answer. "I'm trying to be a nicer guy. I don't want to be the guy that everybody hates anymore." But it didn't convince me. This was Draco Malfoy we were talking about. He would never change.

The rest of our walk was silent. We walked into charms class together, but we were early. The only person in the classroom was Professor Flitwick. Draco and I went to opposite sides of the room and sat in our two-people desks. I pulled my book out and turned to the page we would be starting today.

I was an overachiever but I liked knowing things. It made me feel… useful.

I heard paper rustling and turned to see Draco folding a piece of paper several times in various places.

I turned back to my book and began reading where I had left off.

DRACO'S POV:

My excuses were lame and my reasoning was faulty. But I didn't care. She made me feel something.

This morning, I really had been just going to the library to study because I couldn't sleep. But when I saw her there, something happened inside me. I didn't want to change. I liked being the way I was. The only thing I didn't like was that she hated me. I could deal with everyone else's hostility. But not hers.

I folded the paper over and over.

I felt her eyes on me and looked up in time to see her turning back around, her curly ponytail bouncing slightly with the movement.

I cupped the bird figure in my hand and blew on it, letting it fly to Hermione's desk. She heard the bird's paper wings flapping and turned around again and saw the bird.

I had written a message for her on the inside. She caught it in her hand, smiling in wonder at my creation. She looked up at me the smile still in place. I smiled back. She must not have realized what she was doing until I smiled because after she saw my grin hers quickly faded and she turned around, putting the bird on her desk and staring at it.

I knew she wouldn't be able to help but unwrap it. She was too interested in it not to. She unfolded the paper and smoothed it out completely on her desk before she even glanced at the words scrawled in black at the top of the page.

I heard footsteps outside the door and knew the rest of the class would be coming soon. She heard them, too. She looked up at the door just behind me and then her eyes strayed to me.

I smiled and then turned it into a haughty sneer so that no one would think that I was here WITH Granger. She understood and grimaced back at me.

The other students walked in and she folded the paper into a small square and put it in the pocket of her robe. She would read it later.


	2. Heartbreak Warfare

DRACO'S POV:

The class flew by fast. Too fast. Usually I couldn't wait for class to be let out so I could stop wasting my time in school. But today, she occupied all of my attention. When it was time for us to go to our next class, I got up slowly and walked even slower, waiting for Granger to catch up to me.

Potty and Weasel were not far behind her, so I made sure to whisper and then walk faster.

"Don't forget to read the bird." I whispered before I sped up, not even sparing a glance at her, hoping that it would just look like I had accidentally ended up beside her and didn't notice.

HERMIONE'S POV:

What was going on with Draco?

I hurried to my next class, hoping Ron and Harry hadn't noticed Draco talking to me.

I walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and saw Professor Snape glowering at a sheet of paper. There were only 5 other children in the seats of the room. I sat in my chair and pulled out my book. The rest of the class entered the room not long after me and then Snape began lecturing.

I had already read through most books on what we were learning today, so I didn't have to pay much attention even when answering direct questions.

I thought mostly about Draco and his odd behavior. Could he actually be turning good? I kind of doubted it, but some part of me wished desperately that he was. I tried to convince myself that it was just for the sake of losing enemies, but I knew that wasn't it… I didn't know what it was, though.

My next class was Transfiguration. My first year at Hogwarts, I had had this class with Harry and Ron… And Draco. Stop thinking about him! But just saying to stop thinking about him didn't do anything. I still thought about him all day through all the rest of my classes: Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, History of Magic, Herbology, Astronomy, Potions, and even Ancient Runes (my personal favorite class).

In all of my classes with Draco, I didn't look to his table, even when he said something very smart-butt-like.

At lunch time, I sat with my back to the Slytherin tables and didn't even risk a glance behind me. I kept quiet even when Lavender sat beside Ron across the table from me. I kept my head down and ate my food.

When all the classes were done, I went back up to the Gryffindor common room.

I put my things away and remembered that today was Friday and I wouldn't have to go to classes tomorrow. Usually I would have been almost sad, but ever since all of the Draco confusion, I wasn't so sure if not having to go to classes with him in them would be bad.

I sat on the edge of my bed and changed into a regular T-shirt and some jeans.

Then I remembered the note Draco had written me. I found my robe again and then reached in the pocket, pulling out the folded paper. I looked at it for a very long time and then unfolded it and read the letters slowly.

"Dear Hermione, I know my behavior must be very strange and disorienting, but I really am trying to change. I would like it if we could maybe be friends. -Draco Malfoy."

Huh… So he really wanted to be friends?

I still didn't trust him, but I couldn't make the decision now, so I pulled out a tin box from the bottom of my wardrobe and opened it up. It was rather deep. I set the top of the box on my bed and stared at the contents of the tin. I kept everything important in here. My favorite pictures of me and my parents, some of me, Harry, and Ron, all the letters I got from my parents over the school year and the ones I got from Ron and Harry in summer. And now it would hold a note from the most unlikely person. I set it in the box and put it back in its place before walking out of the room and walking to the couch in the common area.

Ron and Harry were already there, watching the fire in the fire place.

"Hello, boys." I said.

They both looked up and moved to the side to make room for me between them. We sat and talked for a few minutes about small things like how our day had gone. I was telling them about a funny letter my parents had sent me the other day and they said they wanted to see it, so I went upstairs and got the box back out, searching for the letter, but not before lingering on Draco's letter. I pulled it out and left the box on my bed open. I would come back up soon to put it back.

I walked down the stairs and before I got to the couch, I saw _her _in my spot. Lavender. She was giggling way too much and leaning on Ron… But he was leaning away. Didn't she see that? Stupid bimbo… Then he turned to face her and she leaned forward and kissed him.

I felt it. Something deep inside my chest that shattered. I couldn't take it. I fell to the floor and felt tears fall down my cheek.

Harry heard me hit the ground and turned around. He got up and walked around the couch.

Ron saw Harry get up so he stopped kissing Lavender so he could see what was going on. He saw where Harry was going… Me. Sitting on the floor in tears. Lavender looked at me and sneered, then tried to kiss Ron again. He looked confused, but kissed her back.

Harry grabbed my elbow and pulled me to my feet. He walked me back up to my room. I sat on my bed and he crouched in front of me. My sobs shook me violently.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked softly.

I just shook my head and pointed in the direction of Ron and Lavender on the couch outside the door and a floor below us. He sat on the bed beside me and put his arm around my shoulders, letting me put my head on his shoulder.

I heard footsteps outside the door. Ron opened the door and walked in halfway.

"Its time for dinner." he looked at me and frowned. "What's the matter, 'mione?"

I looked at him with such anger that he stumbled backwards.

"Nothing at all, Won-Won." I said sarcastically.

"Look, I know you don't like Lavender-"

"Get out." I growled.

But he just stood there. So I grabbed a bouncy ball that rested on my bedside table and hurled it at him. It hit him in the stomach. Good.

He walked away and shut the door.

Harry rubbed my shoulder absently and said, "Come, on. We'd better go get something to eat."

I nodded and stood slowly. We walked all the way to the dining hall.

I was sure I still looked like I had been crying, but I was too mad to care. I just wiped my cheek.

We walked in and sat in our spot. Ron and Lavender were across the table from us being entirely too cuddly.

I was ready to hit one of them in the face. I tried my hardest to ignore them, and it was working fairly well.

Then I felt eyes on me. I turned to see Draco watching me.

As soon as he saw my tear stained face, his expression was one of pure rage. His eyes shifted from me to Ron. Then he turned back around. I could see his fists clenched.

"Hermione?" Harry said, "What are you looking at?"

"Umm…" I said, brilliantly. "I thought I saw something on Malfoy's back."

I turned back to the table and continued glaring at my food.

But I could still hear small comments from Lavender to Ron slipping through my concentration, and it was breaking my heart.


	3. Take A Bow

DRACO'S POV:

I could kill Weasley for making her cry. I knew it was all his fault. Him and that Lavender.

Wait… Why did I care? She was a stupid mudblood. What happened to her was no concern of mine.

'_But you want it to be, don't you?_' came that stupid little voice in my head that had convinced me to even start being nice to her in the first place.

I put my head down on the long table and hoped, for the sake of my sanity (and the migraine that was building up) that Pansy would stop talking. As my luck would have it, she didn't.

I decided I would ignore her; my attention has never been that great, so it wasn't hard.

I couldn't think about food anymore.

The sight of her face, wet from tears and her eyes red and puffy from the idiotic girl who Weasel had chosen over her was burned into the back of my eyelids and tortured me.

How could he be so blind? First, knowing that it would kill his best friend. Anyone could see how she looked at him.

It made me mad to think that, but I would never admit to it.

And second, picking Lavender over Granger was the dumbest choice he would make in his entire miserable life. I also would never admit that.

Granger had a certain shine about her. A kind of shimmer that moved with her when she walked or ran or even just sat and studied. That shimmer resounded in her voice and was even more pronounced when you looked in her eyes.

But I would never admit any of it. Least of all to Granger herself.

But my life was a crazy place… Who knew what could happen?

HERMIONE'S POV:

I walked slowly out of the Great Hall after finishing my food long before everyone else.

Ron and Lavender's sickeningly sweet conversation had taken its toll on me. My head sagged and my thoughts were practically morbid.

I heard footsteps behind me, but I ignored them, probably just another fast eater like me.

"Granger!" I heard the most infuriating voice come from behind me.

I turned slowly, blank-faced.

He stopped a few feet away, looking at me sympathetically.

"Look, I'm sorry about Weas-… Ron. I can tell how much you care about him."

Was I really that transparent?

He paused for a moment. "Hey," he said, making me look up.

He cocked a brow and looked at me worriedly. Why was he worried? He hated me.

"Are you alright?"

I supposed he was just trying to be nice and make me believe the story he was feeding me about wanting to be friends and nodded, turning away.

I began walking slowly again, but Malfoy didn't seem to get the hint. I wanted to be alone.

He put his hand on my shoulder to slow me.

My reflex was to spin around abruptly, nearly knocking him to the ground and growl "Don't touch me." through my teeth as I stared at him with a glare that, according to his expression, scared the hell out of him.

I turned back, starting up the stairs. But before I got far, I heard his footsteps again.

Why was he so stubborn?

I turned around, adding an exasperated sigh for effect. "What do you want, Draco?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

He looked stunned for a second and then his eyes darted around the room before settling on a crack in the floor.

"Nothing, I suppose. I just wanted to be sure you were alright." He sounded melancholy.

Was Draco Malfoy actually sulking? And because of me? I couldn't believe it. Maybe he actually was trying to be friends.

The Draco I knew (well, used to know) would have snapped right back with some ignorant quip about my heritage.

"Well, I'm fine. So… Bye." I said, turning around.

"Okay. Bye." he said, turning around with a slight slump to his shoulders.

I felt the sudden urge to say something comforting to him, but I didn't know what to say, so I just went back to my room.

DRACO'S POV:

I walked back into the Great Hall, ignoring the curious glances of Crabbe and Goyle. I sat and stared at my food, the identity of the substance escaping my notice.

After dinner, I walked slowly to the Slytherin common room. I sat on a chair, thinking, my emotions teetering precariously on the edge of insanity.

No one bothered me, assuming that I was in a bad mood due to the mask of intense concentration I wore. It was a good thing, too; I was sorting through some very confusing things.

Did I maybe like Granger more than I thought? No. I couldn't. I'm a Slytherin. She's a… ugh… Gryffindor.

But I still couldn't stand under that hateful glare of hers without shifting uncomfortably. I could deal with every scowl, every sneer thrown my way. But not hers.

I couldn't live with her hating me as much as everyone else. It made me queasy to think about.

But that's why I was doing this wasn't it? Searching for a sense of relief. I would start with the one person that bothered me the most and work my way up.

I didn't want to be the guy everyone hated. Even if it made my own house hate me.

Getting bored with just sitting, I decided to take a walk up to the Astronomy Tower.

HERMIONE'S POV:

I laid on my bed, staring blurry-eyed at the bed next to me.

I couldn't believe Ron could even be with her. Sometimes it seemed like he didn't even like her. But then, sometimes I didn't like him. Like now.

Somehow Draco crept into my mind. I started thinking about how much I disliked him and how much I wished he would go somewhere else, somewhere I wouldn't have to deal with him.

Then, I started thinking about other things about him.

Like his white-blond hair, his eyes like chips of gray slate, his tall, slender form.

I began drifting off to the sight of him smiling, a sight rarely seen when it is in true happiness that he smiles, at me like I had just given him the greatest gift he could ever have hoped for.

I fell asleep thinking maybe that gift was acceptance.

I woke in the middle of the night, sleeping girls all around me. I sat up and, acting on impulse, grabbed the tin box in the bottom of my wardrobe and pulled the folded bird out, unfolding it and trying to erase the creases with my bedspread.

I read and re-read the letter over and over in my head, searching for any sign of falseness in his claim. But I found none.

He seemed honest, which confused me.

What would Draco Malfoy possibly gain from becoming friends with a "mudblood"?

My head started hurting after thinking too much so soon after waking up, so I stood and tiptoed quietly out of the door and walked down into the common room.

The fire was going and a very familiar figure was sitting on the couch, outlined by the light of the fire.

"Ron? What are you doing up?" I asked, holding my arms closer to myself and rubbing them. The room was freezing, my breath visible in the air separating us, eerily resembling the awkwardness since Lavender had come along made tangible.

"Do you hate me, Hermione?" Ron asked, not looking up from the fire or even moving.

I walked over to the couch and sat beside him, holding my knees to my chest, before answering. "No, Ron. Of course I don't hate you. Why would I hate you?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't say what I thought he might, but knowing that it was the only logical reason I would.

"Lavender. You cried when I kissed her, you completely ignore us when she's around, you seem to hate her." he said, then he looked up. "You seem to hate me, too." His sad blue eyes, ringed by bruise-like shadows, bored into mine in a way that made me want to cry.

Not even realizing what I was doing until it happened, I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him close. His arms slowly wound around my waist and we sat like that for a few minutes.

I felt a tear in my eye and willed it to dry up.

I pulled back, Ron smiling at me.

"So you really don't hate me?" he asked, as though it were a question.

"No." I said, smiling back.

"Good. You're my best friend Hermione, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you." he said, then seemed to realize for the first time what he had just said. His eyes widened and he scrambled to amend what he had said. "I-I mean to help me w-with homework and th-things like that!"

I laughed at his verbal awkwardness and nodded, staring into the flames flickering in the fireplace.

The reds and yellows danced in a never-ending circle, chasing each other childishly, never running out of energy, never faltering in their tracks. Their lights threw shadows across the walls and Ron's tired features.

"Ron, you should probably go to sleep, you look like you haven't slept in weeks." I said, patting his shoulder and pushing him off the couch.

"Alright." he said, not needing to be told twice. "Night, 'Mione." he said, rubbing his eyes and seeming to be sleep walking.

Which would explain what he did next.

As he shambled clumsily around to the back of the couch, he stopped and turned around, crouching down and putting his lips to my cheek softly. His lips were soft and warm and the kiss lasted for a while.

When I suspected he had fallen asleep like that, he pulled away and whispered, "Night night." then walked back upstairs.

When he was gone, I replayed the whole conversation, including the kiss on my cheek, over and over in my mind.


	4. Super Bass

HERMIONE'S POV:

I got tired of sitting and staring at the fire and I was too awake to go back to bed, so I stood and walked out of the common room, heading in the general direction of the astronomy tower. I hadn't meant to end up there, but I did.

I entered hesitantly, only noticing the shape of a tall boy backlit by the starlight coming in from the window he was staring out when I closed the door shut behind me and he turned around, wand in hand.

"Oh its you, Granger." Draco said, lowering his wand.

Hermione was surprised to find that she wasn't surprised that his voice was actually gentle and inviting instead of his usual snarky-ness.

"Draco? What are you doing up here?" I asked, taking a step closer and squinting, trying to force my eyes to focus in the darkness.

"Couldn't sleep, wanted to do some thinking without anyone interrupting."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, not sure why I was apologizing for walking in on his thinking. "I'll leave and-"

"No!" he said, grabbing my wrist gently and pulling me back into the room. "Stay." he said, sounding very friendly, a major change from the jerk he had been last week.

I almost smiled.

I stepped forward and walked to the wall, sliding my wrist out of his warm hand smoothly and nonchalantly. I leaned against the side of the windowed wall and looked out at the stars.

I heard him walk forward hesitantly.

"You see that bunch of stars there?" he said, pointing out at the sky in the distance over some tall mountains.

The black night sky was speckled with millions of brightly shining stars. The gaggle of stars he was pointing out looked like an isosceles triangle whose top wasn't connected.

I nodded.

For once, I didn't know what it was. I was fairly good at astrology, but this was a constellation I was unfamiliar with.

"They call that one Equelleus. It's Latin for 'little horse'." he said, almost in a whisper.

"When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a star." I said, not having meant to say that out loud.

"Why?" he asked, curiously without a hint of amusement. He seemed to honestly want to know.

Glad that the darkness was heavy enough to hide my blush, I figured I may as well tell him why.

"I wanted to shine so bright that everyone on Earth would look up and admire me and make wishes on me. And I would make every wish come true." I said, staring up at the stars and recalling my childhood when my mother would sit by my bedside and watch the stars with me. We would play a game where we had to name the constellations. Each night, she taught me a new one and we would make up stories for each constellation and when she tucked me in at night and left, I would keep staring out at the stars, wishing to be in the sky with them. To shine.

"That's quite sweet." Draco said, sounding very out-of-character.

I nodded, not knowing how to respond to that statement.

DRACO'S POV:

Her story made me think of when I was a child and I would stand at the window when I was supposed to be asleep and watched the stars and tried to remember the names of each one.

"I used to watch the stars when I was little, too." I told her, wondering if we had been watching the same stars at the same time and thinking about that connection… Then quickly dismissing the thought, knowing it was ridiculous.

Hermione looked surprised. "Really?" she asked.

I stuck my right hand in my pocket, then used my left hand to trail along the side of the wall as I walked closer to the window.

"Yes. When I was supposed to be asleep, I would run up to the window when I thought nobody would notice and I would watch the stars. I was completely mesmerized by how shiny and how magical they looked, sitting in the sky where I couldn't go. When I heard my father's footsteps outside my bedroom door, I would race back to my bed and pull the covers up over my head, pretending to be asleep. If my father ever found out… Well, I don't know what would happen, but I'm sure he wouldn't have approved." I said, getting lost in the story and remembering laying in my little bed, my small palms sweating with nervous wondering if my father had known that I had been watching the stars or if he still thought I was asleep. He never caught me, but it still scared me to think what might've happened if he had found out.

"That's terrible." Hermione said, looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

I got lost in them for a moment and when she looked at me like I was crazy, I sighed and said, "So how is the whole Ronald situation going?"

She kind of jerked and stood up straighter.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at her worriedly.

Why did she make me like this? Protective and sensitive and… Everything I've never been.

"You called him Ronald."

"That is his name isn't it?" I asked innocently, knowing full well that that wasn't what she had meant.

She seemed to give up and said, "Yes, it is."

She stared out the window.

"Well, we talked just a few minutes ago, actually. He asked if I hated him. I told him I didn't, I couldn't. Then he said that he didn't know what he would do without me. Then he said 'I mean, for help with homework.' and I told him to go to sleep; he really looked terrible. But before he went to sleep, he kissed me on the cheek. I don't think he knows he did, though. He seemed too tired to really be in control of what he was doing."

When she said he had kissed her, even on the cheek, anger built inside me. It was irrational, but I didn't know how to stop it. I tried to cover it with a different emotion, though the anger brought a light flush to my cheeks.

"Did he now?" I went for amusement.

I was good at covering up emotions. I should be, living with someone like my father.

She bought it. "Yes. What is it to you?" she asked.

I was curious about my interest in her as well.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I guess I kind of consider you… My friend." I said staring at the floor, not wanting to see it if she rejected me.

"Oh. Well… Okay." she said, obviously at a loss for words.

She hadn't said she thought of me as a friend, but at least she hadn't said that I wasn't her friend. That meant there was room for improvement.

"Hermione?" I asked, making her jump a little.

"Yes?" she asked, sounding slightly breathless.

"Do you hate me?"

HERMIONE'S POV:

The sound of my name coming out of his mouth gave me more pleasure than it should have. I jumped a little at the sound.

"Yes?" I asked.

He hesitated a moment, still staring at the floor. Then, keeping his head tilted downward, he looked up, his gray eyes filled with a light that made them silver.

"Do you hate me?"

The question made me think of Ron, but I thought about the question for a moment.

"I don't know. I used to think I did, but you seem like you've changed. I don't know if I can actually trust you, but I would like to. So I guess… No, Draco, I don't hate you." I said, unsure of why I kept being so honest and open with him. I felt too comfortable around him for my own good.

I was still looking in his eyes and he had a strange intensity hidden deep in his eyes. Realizing that this should have been extremely awkward, I blushed and looked away, a small smile coming to my lips that was out of my control. I could feel my heart eating hard against my rib cage and started wondering if he could hear it. It was like a thousand bass drums pounding in my ears.

I turned so I was facing the window straight on. I felt Draco move forward to stand like I was, left hand on the wall, head tilted up looking at the stars brightening the sky.

I felt his pinky pull on mine, pulling it closer. When it came, he slid his fingers in between mine. His hand was soft and warm and felt good against my cold one.

My breath caught in my throat and I shivered, a tremble that had nothing to do with cold (though it was very cold in the room).

"Are you cold?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before he started pulling off his jacket. He set it over my shoulders.

It was warm and I gave in, leaving it over my shoulders. I used cold as an excuse to keep the jacket on.

"I should probably go back to sleep." I said, feeling the effects of sleep deprivation creeping up on me.

"Yeah, me too." he said, turning away and heading for the door.

He held it open for me and I handed him his jacket. He started to say no and make me keep it, but before he could say a word, I said, "What would I tell everyone?"

He paled and nodded, taking the jacket back. He walked me all the way to the door of the Gryffindor common room then waved timidly ad turned away, walking toward the Slytherin common room.

I opened the door and came up short, seeing Ron standing in the doorway, staring at me with an accusatory glare.


	5. Behind Blue Eyes

RON'S POV:

Soon after kissing Hermione, I realized something… I wasn't tired at all.

So I walked back downstairs. But when I got there, she wasn't there anymore.

I opened the door of the common room and saw her retreating figure heading for the astronomy tower. I followed her, not wanting to scare her.

When she got to the astronomy tower, I heard voices on the other side of the door. It was a male voice that said, "Oh its you, Granger."

I thought it sounded like Malfoy, but the voice was kind and sounded… Warm?

"Draco? What are you doing up here?"

It was Malfoy? But he hated Hermione. Why was he being so nice to her?

"Couldn't sleep, wanted to do some thinking without anyone interrupting." he said, not one once of his usual venom in his words.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Why was she apologizing to that worm! "I'll leave and-"

I heard her footsteps coming back toward the door and I started to run back, but stopped, the anger building even more in me when I heard him say, "No! Stay."

I heard shuffling feet. They were moving farther into the room and it was becoming harder to hear, so I pressed my ear up against the cold wood of the door.

"You see that bunch of stars there?" he asked.

Why did even the thought of them looking at stars together, even if it was by accident, make me angry?

There was no answer that I heard, but then Malfoy said, "They call that one Equelleus. Its Latin for 'little horse'."

That fool… As if there was something Hermione didn't know.

"When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a star."

Why was she telling him this? Didn't she know she couldn't trust him? This whole thing was confusing me and making my stomach hurt. It was twisting in painful knots and then unclenching and reforming into a knot with a different angle.

"Why?" he asked.

He didn't say it meanly, just curiously. His curiosity in her made me sick in a way I couldn't quite explain.

"I wanted to shine so bright that everyone on Earth would look up and admire me and make wishes on me. And I would make every wish come true." she said, her voice soft.

She had never told me this before. Why tell Malfoy? He was the enemy.

"That's quite sweet." Malfoy said, his voice sounding very quiet and distant.

I wanted to punch him square in his stupid face.

There was a long pause and then, "I used to watch the stars when I was little, too."

Malfoy and Hermione had something in common? I must be dreaming.

"Really?" Hermione asked. She sounded as surprised as I felt.

Malfoy just didn't seem like the star-watching type.

"Yes. When I was supposed to be asleep, I would run up to the window when I thought nobody would notice and I would watch the stars. I was completely mesmerized by how shiny and how magical they looked, sitting in the sky where I couldn't go. When I heard my father's footsteps outside my bedroom door, I would race back to my bed and pull the covers up over my head, pretending to be asleep. If my father ever found out… Well, I don't know what would happen, but I'm sure he wouldn't have approved." he said, sounding as though he were lost in another time.

"That's terrible." Hermione said, sounding sorry for him. I wished I could tell her not to be, not to let her guard down around him.

Malfoy sighed and asked, "So how is the whole Ronald situation going?"

It was strange to hear Malfoy say my first name. Stranger to think that she had been telling him about me. And stranger still to think that there was a situation between us.

"What's wrong?" Malfoy asked, sounding concerned and protective. It made me mad to hear him talk to her like that. Like he cared. I cared. He didn't.

But then I processed the meaning of his words. What had happened to Hermione?

"You called him Ronald." She said, sounding puzzled.

"That is his name isn't it?" he asked. He sounded like any other kid that would be talking about me.

But he wasn't, he was a Malfoy. He didn't call me by my first name, he taunted me and made fun of me and my family.

But he faked his innocence and Hermione knew it.

But she just said, "Yes, it is." and then, "Well, we talked just a few minutes ago, actually. He asked if I hated him. I told him I didn't, I couldn't. Then he said that he didn't know what he would do without me. Then he said 'I mean, for help with homework.' and I told him to go to sleep; he really looked terrible. But before he went to sleep, he kissed me on the cheek. I don't think he knows he did, though. He seemed too tired to really be in control of what he was doing."

She had no idea that I knew what I had done. I would just act like I didn't remember for the sake of the awkwardness that was sure to form if I brought it up.

"Did he now?" Malfoy said, sounding amused.

I wanted so badly to burst through the door and beat the little maggot to a pulp.

"Yes. What is it to you?" She said.

It made me happy that she had asked. I was beginning to wonder the same thing.

"I don't know." he said after a slight hesitation. "I guess I kind of consider you… My friend."

I hated him now more than I ever had in my life.

I was counting on Hermione to turn him down and say that they weren't friends, could never be friends.

But all she said was, "Oh. Well… Okay."

Did that mean she felt the same way?

The door cracked open a bit and I hid up against the side of the wall, but neither of them seemed to notice.

I peeked in. They were standing near the window but on either side of it. 'good' I thought. 'separation.'

"Hermione?" he asked, making my face turn red with rage.

He couldn't call her that, they weren't friends.

She jumped a little bit but said, "Yes?"

I didn't like seeing the reaction her name on his lips had on her.

He looked up from under his lashes, his eyes lit up in an odd way. It wasn't the way they usually did, right before he tortured some helpless nerd. It was different.

"Do you hate me?"

She hesitated a moment. "I don't know. I used to think I did, but you seem like you've changed. I don't know if I can actually trust you," that's what I wish I could tell you, DON'T TRUST HIM! "but I would like to. So I guess… No, Draco, I don't hate you."

I swore under my breath, feeling the catch in the word like swallowing a stone.

They sat staring at each other for a long time. The way they never looked away made my temper flare even more.

Then Hermione turned to the window, her hand on the wall. Malfoy copied her on the right side of the window.

But then I saw his hand move toward hers. They were holding hands!

That conniving little rat!

She shivered and he asked if she was cold as he took his jacket off.

I couldn't watch anymore, so I stood and raced back to the common room. I paced angrily, my face red, my palms sweaty and my eyes searching all over the room for something to distract me.

I heard her coming to the room, so I walked to the door.

She opened the door and jumped at the sight of me.

"Hermione." I said, sounding sarcastic and mean.

She flinched. "Ron, what are you doing up?" she asked, sliding past me and entering the room.

"I could ask you the same thing. Or should I ask you what you were doing with Malfoy?" I said, my voice raising a bit, but not enough to wake anyone.

She looked at me with pure rage. "Were you following me, Ronald Weasley?"

Her anger made me falter for a moment. I shrunk back. A woman's anger is more impressive than a man's sometimes. This was one of those times.

But that didn't stop me from being angry.

"Well, what were you doing with him?" I asked, a bit softer this time.

She took a second and my softness seemed to work, she didn't sound near as angry this time.

"He's trying to stop being so evil all the time. He said he doesn't like being the guy everyone hates. He wants to be friends. He's stopped calling all of us such terrible names, he's been being nice."

My voice rose once more. "How can you believe that load of-"

"RON!" she said, not too loudly.

"Well? How do you believe him? How can you be sure you can trust him?" I asked, a bit quieter.

She started to speak, then closed her mouth and stared at a table as though it were a puzzle she couldn't figure out.

"I don't know. I've got a gut feeling. Please, Ron, just trust me, okay? And dont tell Harry."

I couldn't believe I was actually going to listen to her. But she was my best friend and I didn't want to lose her to Malfoy. I was still mad at her holding hands with that creep, but I wasn't going to bring that up lest she ask too many questions about my curiosity.

"Fine." I said, accenting the F too add effect. "But I don't have to like it."

I glared at the stairs and walked up, going to bed.


	6. Change of Heart

HERMIONE'S POV:

I wasn't sure why I believed Draco.

I wasn't sure why I felt so miserable.

I wasn't sure why Ron had seemed so mad over me just talking to Draco.

I wasn't sure why I started crying the minute my covers were over my head.

I wasn't sure why I felt so helpless and lost.

I wasn't sure why I missed Draco.

I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

DRACO'S POV:

I walked at a leisurely pace to the Slytherin common room.

When I got in, the lights were off and no one was awake.

I walked quietly to my bed and crawled in, thinking about what had just happened.

I never would have acted like that normally. But I was changing and I didn't know how to stop it.

I thought I might've been starting to develop feelings for Hermione. I would never admit it to anyone else, though… Maybe.

It was too shameful for me, a pure-blood Slytherin, to have such feelings for a mudblood Gryffindor.

I thought about how it had felt to have her small, cold hand in mine.

But, I fell asleep thinking about how beautiful she looked in the starlight.

HERMIONE'S POV:

When I woke up, the first thing I did was run to the bathroom and throw up.

No other girl was in the room. It was a weekend and everyone but me had plans.

I looked in the mirror and was startled at what I saw. My face was white and my eyes were nearly as red as my nose.

I turned to leave, but sneezed on my way out, banging my head on the wall in the process, which only made my headache worse. I stumbled weakly to my short bedside table, pulling open a drawer and pulling out a box of tissues. I set them on the table and laid back down, grabbing one and blowing my nose before lobbing it into the trashcan. I shivered violently and pulled the covers closer around myself.

A knock at the door made me jump.

"Come in." I said, my voice coming out weak and scratchy. I sounded terrible.

Harry and Ron walked slowly through the door.

Their eyes widened at the sight of me.

They moved closer and Harry said, "What's wrong, Hermione?"

I sniffled and said, "I've got a cold."

I shivered again. I felt a cough coming on and grabbed another tissue quickly, holding it up to my mouth and coughing violently, my whole body shaking.

"Do you need anything?" Harry asked.

I tried to say "Another blanket" but through my shivering, all that came out was, "B-b-blanket."

He nodded and walked off to get another blanket.

Ron leaned over and touched the back of his hand to my forehead. He pulled back quickly.

"We may need to take her to the infirmary, Harry, she's burning up."

Whatever Harry said next was cut off by me jumping faster than should have been possible for someone as sick as me and sprinting to the bathroom.

Ron came in and held my hair back for me while Harry left to get a teacher.

When I sat back in bed, another coughing fit racked my body.

Ron looked at me worriedly and handed me the box of tissues.

Harry came in with Madam Pomfrey at his heels.

She checked my temperature and had me moved to the infirmary.

Harry and Ron stayed with me for most of the day until I told them to leave because I felt bad about making them stay in the sick-room with me on the weekend. Even when they protested that they didn't have anything better to do anyway, I convinced them to go.

Shortly after they left, I fell asleep.

DRACO'S POV:

When I didn't see Hermione at breakfast I got a little bit worried. I tried to convince myself that she probably just woke up late or something. She was up late last night, it made sense.

But then, Potter and Weasley were at lunch without her. That made me even more worried.

Trying to make it sound like a joke, I said sarcastically to Crabbe, "I wonder where Granger is."

Crabbe was so dumb he wouldn't even think that anything was going on.

"I heard she's in the infirmary." He laughed.

I laughed with him, not feeling like laughing but doing it anyway because it was required.

After that, I snuck away into the infirmary.

There she was, asleep on a cot. Her face was gaunt and her breathing was raspy.

I sat in a chair beside her and inspected her further. Her hair was stuck to her pale face with sweat.

Her eyelids fluttered open and when she looked at me, she said, "What are you doing here?" She sounded terrible. Her voice was nearly guttural and it rasped, sounding painful.

"Don't talk." I said, sure that it was taking a lot out of her just to say that short sentence.

She obliged without complaint.

"I came to see you." I said, taking hold of the side of her cold hand. "I heard you were in here and… Well, I guess I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

She smiled a little bit and nodded, showing that she was fine. But she wasn't, she looked like she was turning green. Then, her face went blank and her cheeks puffed outward.

I knew what was happening immediately so I reached for the nearest bucket and held it up to her.

She gripped the edges of the tin pail so hard that her knuckles turned bone-white.

The horrible retching noise that came from her, along with the splattering sound on the bottom of the bucket, made me sick to my stomach. In between retching fits, she said, "Leave."

I did as she said and ran. I felt like I might get sick, too, but I wanted to be back there with her. I finally convinced myself it would be far better if I got away from the infirmary.

If Ron and Harry decided to drop in on her and saw me, what would they do? I didn't need trouble with her friends.

I went to the library and decided maybe I would read something and try to get my mind off Hermione. After a few minutes of searching, I found something with a promising title. "Death Wish". But, as with every novel, there is a love interest. And I couldn't help picturing myself and Hermione as the couple.

When I gave myself a stern talking-to about how impossible that was and how ridiculous I was being, I put the book back in its place, deciding to practice some spells instead. But even that didn't help.

Every time I came to one that was even slightly difficult I thought, 'Hermione would have this one down in a minute… In fact she probably already knows it.' and when I came to one that extremely hard, 'I need help from Hermione.' Nothing helped get her off my mind.

'Quit being so stupid!' came that little voice again. I would name him Steve. Because the name Steve really got on my nerves, and lately so was this voice. 'The only reason you even think you like her is that she's pretty.'

And Steve wasn't wrong. She was very pretty.

But that wasn't the only reason. She was also smart and she had an amazing smile and-

'Didn't you come here to get her OFF your mind?' Steve said in his tiny, annoying voice.

I scowled at the book in my hands and placed it back on a shelf and walked out of the library determined to find something that would distract me.

Halfway through the hall outside the library, I ran into Ron. Literally. I was turning a corner when he stepped out from behind it, a certain menace shining in his eyes.

"Malfoy." he sneered.

Was this what I was being reduced to for some girl? Getting picked on by a Weasley? I reminded myself it was for the best. I had to do it for her. I wanted to be good for her.

"Ronald." I said monotonously.

His eyes widened in surprise and he only blinked at me for a moment.

"Was there something you wanted?" I asked after he just stood there eyeing me warily.

This seemed to surprise him even more. I guess I kind of expected this. I had always been horrible to him. It made sense for him to act like at any minute I might give him a super wedgie and steal his lunch money.

"Um… No, I guess not." he said, seeming to have had something to say before he saw my attitude change. Obviously he wasn't factoring this in. I guess I couldn't blame him.

"Okay. Well, bye." I said, walking around him and down the hall.

There were a few kids in the hall, but no more than 6 or 7.

A first year walking toward the library tripped on the edge of his robe and fell forward, dropping his books all over the floor.

Feeling the sudden urge to help him, I bent over and pulled him up by his elbow then began gathering up the books.

"Thank you." he said, bent over his mess.

I held out the pile of books he must've been on his way to return.

He looked up and his eye widened in fear as he found out to whose arm the helping hand was attached. He grabbed the books and ran, nearly tripping again.

As I watched him turn the corner, I saw Weasley watching me.

I turned back and kept walking.

RON'S POV:

Maybe Malfoy really was leaving the dark side. I couldn't be sure quite yet, but it seemed like he was turning nice.

But you couldnt do that, could you? Surely you could...

But not someone like Malfoy. I would have to see a little more proof before I bought his load of-

"Ron!" I heard two identical voices call.

I turned to see Fred and George racing up to me with a box of their candy and rolled my eyes, ready for them to ask me to do a test-run on something.


	7. Dreams

HERMIONE'S POV:

Being sick was not fun. Not fun at all. I threw up at least 12 times just in 3 hours.

Madam Pomfrey diagnosed it as a "one day cold". Sure enough, by the end of the day, I was feeling a little better.

Having refused to eat or drink anything (except the concoctions Madam Pomfrey gave me) for fear of what it might come back up as, I was starving by the time Madam Pomfrey released me from the infirmary.

I was still a little shaky and a little wobbly on my feet. Luckily Ron and Harry were there to hold me up so I didn't stumble into any walls.

At dinner, I couldn't help but peek over my shoulder a few times at the blond-haired Slytherin boy. He didn't turn around once. Ron noticed me looking and threw me a few dirty looks and even scowled in Draco's direction once or twice.

I gobbled down all of my food and then got really sleepy. My head was light and I was fighting to keep my eyelids from shutting completely.

"Hermione? Hermione, are you alright?" Harry asked, seeing my drowsiness and probably mistaking it for the return of what was supposed to be a one day cold.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really tired. I think I'm going to go up to sleep." I yawned and stood up, shambling out of the dining hall.

I half expected to hear Draco following me out of the dining hall again, but when I turned around, the halls were empty. I frowned to myself and turned around, walking up the stairs slower than before.

Halfway up the stairs, I bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm-" I started, then I saw who I had ran into and tried to make a run for it.

"Hello, Miss Granger. How would you like to test out a few of our newest inventions?" George asked, pointing at the box in Fred's hands.

Fred made a flourish-like gesture under the box, making a presentation out of a box of candy that made you sick.

"Thanks, but no thanks, you two. I was already sick once today, I don't think I could deal with being sick again." I said, running up the stairs behind them before they could try to talk me into it again.

Scampering up the steps and nearly falling over a few times, I thought about Draco; it was becoming a natural habit for me lately. In one day, I had gone from hating him, to not believing his efforts to be nice, to defending him from Ron, to enjoying his company.

My life was becoming very confusing. Usually my life was very simple (aside from the random life-threatening journey with Ron and Harry, but that was normal for me) and I knew exactly what was going on. But lately, I hadn't known very much about even at all. This whole Draco ordeal was really screwing with my head.

Laying down in my bed, I wrapped myself in a big quilt and fell asleep quickly.

DRACO'S POV:

Hermione had gotten over her sickness and was in the dining hall for dinner.

I knew she was looking at me, but I couldn't look up; I knew there were lots of people watching me. Weasley, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, and an endless list of others (most of them with hateful glares, but they still counted). They would all notice me watching Granger and think something was going on. I couldn't afford for people to see me with her. It seemed like maybe Weasley was already onto us. I didn't know why I was keeping it from people, but I couldn't let anyone know that we were friends.

After dinner that night, I stayed awake in bed staring at the ceiling for at least 3 hours just thinking about her, and when I finally fell asleep, I dreamt of her.

In the dream, she was wearing a long, blue dress and her hair was pulled to the side, a shiny clip sparkling near the base of her neck and letting her curls hang loosely around one shoulder.

She smiled at me and my heart did something it has never done before. It beat hard and fast and wouldn't slow. I smiled and couldn't help the obvious yearning in my eyes. I thrust my hands into the pockets of my suit coat and smiled.

It felt abnormal but natural as breathing at the same time. It wasn't like when I smiled because I was enjoying being cruel to some poor defenseless first year or when I tortured my house elf. It was new. Like smiling because I was… happy.

She blushed and looked down, biting her lower lip softly and letting one small, quiet giggle tickle the air around us. It was the most cute thing I had ever heard. Though it wasn't saying much (what with my life being fairly giggle-deprived due to my terrible upbringing), I was sure there was nothing quiet so adorable.

I felt a strange tugging at the back of my mind. I mentally investigated.

It was sadness. But how or why would I possibly be sad at a moment like this?

It was because I wasn't right for her. She was the goody-two-shoes teacher's pet book-worm. I was the bully, I was practically the epitome of evil to those here at school and every kid's worst nightmare.

It made my chest hurt to think about all of the people who hated my guts. I knew what it was to be unwanted in my own home, I was hoping that maybe I would be able to change that here at school and make someone, anyone want me around so I wouldn't be alone forever. Sure Crabbe and Goyle claimed they were my friends and I let them hang out with me, but they, too, wanted me gone. They only said they were my friends because I was the bully. Bullies didn't pick on their friends, or at least not near as bad as most other people.

Hermione was the only real friend I had ever had besides the stuffed rabbit I had when I was an infant, and I wasn't even sure she considered me her friend. I would work as hard as I possibly could to gain her friendship and those around me. But I needed her friendship first; she mattered more and maybe if she befriended me, others would be less reluctant to actually like me.

The sadness was still there, though, lurking in the background of my thoughts, taunting me and discouraging my efforts, telling me she would never accept a monster.

She was staring at me worriedly while I sorted through this epiphany.

I refused to think of the sadness darkening my mind and enjoy the moments I was given with her.

I smiled at her again, but this time it felt forced instead of natural. She seemed to notice that this one was more or less faked.

Her frown made me even more sad.

I reached a hand up and cupped her cheek in my palm. Her smooth, unblemished skin was all cream and roses, tempting me with its softness. Her face was tilted down, but her eyes were on mine, inviting me to do something I had never thought of with her before now.

My eyes traveled down her face to her lips. Her lower lip was still gently but firmly held in place by her teeth, but she seemed to know what was happening before I did.

I thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me when her mouth seemed to be moving closer, but when mine parted in response and my heart tried to beat its way out of my mouth but got caught in my throat, I knew she wanted to kiss me, too.

I leaned forward, my pulse beating in my ears so loud it should have been painful, but there was a soothing warmth around me that seeped into me and made me forget every worry, every pain, everybody in the world but the girl whose mouth was currently .05 centimeters away from mine.

"Draco!" Crabbe yelled.

I thrashed about in my bed, accidentally kicking Crabbe, who was leaning over me looking at me like I had swallowed an entire box of candies from the Weasley Twins.

"What? What is it?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes and sitting up with a yawn creeping its way up my throat.

I must've slept late; Crabbe and I seemed to be the only people in the room.

"You slept pretty late so I figured I would come wake you up, but you've been saying a bunch of weird stuff." he said, once again looking at me with that same mixture of worry for my mental health and wariness.

I felt the blood drain from my face. How much had he heard? What would I do if he had heard anything that had to do with Hermione? How much could I tell this dim-witted pile of lard?

"What did I say?" I asked.

"Something about an epiphany and at one point, you mumbled, 'I need to be nicer'." So that was why he was worried. "Are you alright?" he asked, reaching up to feel my forehead.

Feeling that I was perfectly fine, he narrowed his eyes and waited for my assurance.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Probably just my subconscious running amuck." I said, knowing he wouldn't be smart enough to figure out that that still meant that I was thinking about changing my ways.

He nodded, staring at a pattern on my blanket like he still didn't quite understand.


	8. Caught Red Handed

HERMIONE'S POV:

I woke the next morning to sunlight shining right in my face, a few girls whispering about their boyfriends, and a massive headache. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my face, throwing the covers off my body in the process.

For once this month, I wasn't freezing. It was very warm for January.

I laid awake in bed for a while before memories of the dream started surfacing. Images flashed behind my eyelids. Me in a blue dress with my hair swept over one shoulder and held in place by a crystal clip. Draco in a suit with his hands in his pockets and an actual smile on his face. Draco holding my cheek in his hand. Draco leaning in to kiss me.

The dream was unfinished. I remembered waking up after that. The kiss never happened.

I felt disappointed but I knew it was stupid. I didn't have feelings for Draco Malfoy and even if I did, it was just a dream. It wasn't like, if the kiss had happened, it would've meant anything.

At least that's what I told myself as I sat up and got dressed, ready to go down and eat breakfast with Harry and Ron.

RON'S POV:

Hermione was different this morning. She wore her hair in a different way. It was pulled loosely to one side with a shiny clip. She was beautiful.

But I would never admit it to Harry or Hermione or…

"Won Won!"

Lavender.

I really did like her a lot, but that name was really starting to grate on my nerves.

Groaning internally, I slowly turned in my seat on the long bench to see her standing with her hands clasped and an overexcited smile on her face. Great, she probably had something planned for us to do today.

"Yes?" I said warily.

"I've got something for us to do today!" she said, obviously overjoyed with her plan-making skills.

I really didn't feel like doing anything today. If I was being completely honest, I only wanted to talk to Hermione at the moment.

Harry caught on to my deer-in-the-headlights expression and cut in just in time.

"Um, actually, Lavender, Ron already said he was going to hang out with me and Hermione today. Sorry." he said, his fib sounding completely honest.

She turned her glare on Hermione and, by the way her glare turned from resentment to hatred, saw exactly how gorgeous she looked.

It wasn't just the hair. Something else was different. She was more confident, she seemed to be looking forward to something, or maybe like something had already happened.

Lavender's eyes widened and turned on me with an outrageous accusatory expression in them.

"Really? You're going to choose your friends over me?" she said, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes.

I knew exactly what she was doing. She was challenging my "love" for her with my friendship for Hermione. This wasn't about choosing my friends over her. To her, it was about choosing Hermione over her.

"Lavender, I'm not choosing anyone over you, you know that." I said, only trying to appease her.

When her expression brightened again and her mouth reopened to let out a stream of animated comments about how wonderful the day would be, I cut her off saying, "But I did promise Harry that I would be able to spend some time with him today." I purposefully didnt bring up Hermione.

This seemed to work just fine.

"Okay." she nodded and ran off to sit with her friends.

I turned back around, sighing heavily.

Hermione's face was half turned away from me, half turned toward the Slytherin table. Harry didn't seem to notice; he and a few other kids were too preoccupied with the mysterious green goop in his food.

Malfoy looked up once, his eyes finding Hermione's easily. He looked surprised but happy. I could have punched him.

I could have seen Hermione's blush from the other side of the hall.

Realizing what he had been doing, he blinked a few times, trying to regain composure and then smiled at her.

I had never in all my life imagined Draco Malfoy capable of a smile like that. Like he was actually happy in a nice way.

Then he turned around.

Hermione, too, turned and saw me watching. Her blush deepened and she looked down, finishing her breakfast in silence.

DRACO'S POV:

I couldn't believe it. She looked exactly the same way she had in my dream. The hair, the glow around her, the eyes. There was something in her eyes that was very similar to last night. The only thing that was missing was the dress and the nearness. I wished desperately for that nearness to come again, even if only for a moment.

After breakfast, I used homework I didn't have as an excuse to escape my group and head to the library, hoping Hermione would go there, too. Sure enough, Hermione saw me heading away and waited for Harry and Ron to catch up to her so she could tell them she was going to the library.

I waited around the corner for her. I thought maybe I would scare her, but when I jumped out from behind the corner, she ran straight into me, knocking both of us to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so-" she began.

But she was stopped by my laughter. It was shaking my chest in a way that was almost as comical as our little bump.

She sat up on the floor next to me. I rested my head against the floor, a few chuckles still coming out quietly.

She looked surprised that I laughed.

I hopped up into a sitting position and then bounced up onto my feet in one quick second. I turned to see her still staring at me, still surprised. I held out my hand.

She slid hers into mine and once again I felt my heart do something odd that was becoming familiar. Her hand was cold again, but this time, she gripped it a little tighter than when she held my hand in the Astrology Tower. Maybe because she was pulling herself to her feet.

But I hoped it was something else. Something I knew it never really could be.

HERMIONE'S POV:

I had decided to wear my hair the way I had in the dream. I had never worn it like this before, but I liked the way it looked, so I figured, why not? Both Draco and Ron seemed to like it. Not that I cared what either of them thought of my hair.

Draco and I chose an aisle to sit in and we both pulled a random book off the shelf and began reading.

Draco pulled out a piece of creamy white paper and a pencil and began jotting down some things, looking down at his book every once in a while.

We sat on opposite sides of the aisle, reading out books. Or at least he read.

I sat upright in my chair, hiding my face and watching Draco. He sat with his feet propped up on the ledge of the bookshelf, his hair tousled slightly and his eyes the same slate gray as usual. But when he turned to look at me and caught me watching him, he smiled and his eyes shined and turned silver again.

I blushed and looked down at my book. I tried desperately to concentrate on the words in front of me, but my thoughts were somewhere else…

There was a rustling of paper and then a very light thud on the ground. I looked down and saw Draco's paper sitting, folded up, on the floor. I looked up at him, but he was reading intently. Or at least he seemed to be.

I picked the piece of paper up and unfolded it, elegant black script flowing across it.

"Do you want to be my friend?"

It was innocent enough, but my pulse still quickened a little at the thought.

I picked his pencil up from the ledge and began writing.

"Yes."

And I passed it back, throwing it right into his lap. He smiled as he read and my heart did a few flips.

DRACO'S POV:

So she did want to be my friend. I couldn't stop smiling about it, but I didn't write back; I already had the information I needed and I didn't know what else to say.

I sat and read (well, pretended to read) and snuck glances at her. Occasionally, we would both look at each other at the same time and blush, smirking at each other.

We were both getting bored of sitting in the library, so we started putting up our books.

When we reached up, our hands touched and I felt something. Like static electricity. She must have felt it, too. She looked at our hands in amazement and then looked up and smiled at me.

"What's going on here?" came an outraged whisper from behind me.

I instinctively slid away from Hermione and she did the same.

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked in a slightly shaky voice.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Weasley standing red-faced at the end cap of the bookshelf behind us.


	9. Kiss Me, Kill Me

RON'S POV:

I walked into the library, ready to see Hermione and talk to her. I hadn't actually talked to her in a while.

I walked around one of the corners of the aisles to see Malfoy and Hermione staring up at each other like… Well, like something I didn't want to describe. It hurt too much.

"What's going on here?" I whispered, outraged. Not that I had much of an excuse. I was dating Lavender and Hermione's love life was none of my concern. But I wanted to be in it. And not with Malfoy.

"Ron, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked in an uneven voice.

I saw Malfoy turn his head to look at me out of the corner of my eye.

"I wanted to come talk to you. I can see you're busy, though. I'll just… leave." I said in an uncharacteristically monotonous and formal voice.

"No! Ron, wait!"

As I turned, she made a grab for my wrist. I turned around and she fell, grabbing my arms for support. I held her up and steadied her. The girl was a total klutz sometimes.

"What?" I whispered.

"Don't leave. What is it? What's the matter?" she asked, searching my face frantically for any sign of an answer.

"Nothing." I said, turning and walking away from the library and her.

HERMIONE'S POV:

My love life was turning into a nightmare.

I could hardly stand the look of pure rage on Ron's face or the cool, composed mask Draco wore when Ron was near.

I ran from the library, searching through the halls for Ron. I could hear Draco's shoes tapping on the ground, running up behind me, but I didn't stop. I had to find Ron. I ran down another corridor, this one leading to the dining hall; Ron always ate when he was upset.

But the dining hall was empty.

I felt cold tears sliding down my cheek silently.

Draco stopped behind me.

I lifted a hand numbly to wipe the tears away. But they kept coming. I sniffed and Draco put both hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. I couldn't look at him, though. I felt ridiculous. Crying for no reason.

But he pulled me close and held me there. I rested my head on his chest and let the tears roll freely.

It was like a CD set on an endless loop. Ron would be with her, I would express interest in another, and Ron would explode. How was that fair? He could be with someone, but I couldn't? Well, this time I didn't care. I wouldn't follow the loop anymore. I would stop wishing for Ron to get rid of Lavender and quit trying to please him. It was my life. I would do what I wanted with it.

But still, I couldn't keep the images of him and her from playing in my mind and breaking my heart over and over.

DRACO'S POV:

Ron had made her cry again. If he knew how much pain he was causing her, would he continue doing this? Staying with another girl while he made it obvious that Hermione was to have no interest in other men if she wanted to stay even friends with him… It was terrible and selfish of him. He was just stringing her along while she got her heart broken. I was tired of seeing her cry at his hands already.

She shook violently, but her sobs made no noise.

I stroked her hair and murmured "shh" over and over again.

"Draco?" she said, straightening up, stepping back, and rubbing her eyes.

"Yes? What is it?" I asked softly, watching her sympathetically.

"Thank you."

Huh?

"For what?" I stepped closer to her and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"For staying with me and helping me while I broke down like that." she said, still rubbing at her eyes. They were red and her face was blotchy.

I half smiled, but it was almost sad. "No problem. I mean, you hardly went on a real crying jag."

She looked down, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Umm… Draco…" she began. I looked at her curiously.

"Yes?" She looked up at me then.

The tears that still had yet to spill over made her eyes shine in the dim lighting, giving her chocolate brown eyes a second layer of beauty.

"I really like you. And I don't know what to do about and it and I-" she cut off, seeing the blank stare I was giving her.

I couldn't pull my eyes away from her lips, glistening in the firelight. She had confessed to liking me, so she wouldn't mind if I…

I slid my hand behind her neck and pulled her forward, kissing her like I hadn't in my dream. My heart felt like it may explode and my stomach flipped over, making it impossible to move back. The kiss seemed to last forever (which was just as well, I didn't want the kiss to end), but at the same time, not near long enough.

I pulled away, my breath ragged and coming up fast, sounding like each was being torn up from my throat. Hermione's was much the same.

Her eyes were wide and she looked like she wanted to say something. But she never did.

Not knowing why, I followed my gut and spun on my heel, running for the common room, leaving the kiss lingering like an echo between us.


	10. Helpless

HERMIONE'S POV:

I was so confused. I had just kissed Draco Malfoy.

A week ago, I would've shot myself in the foot before even considering doing something like that. But even more confusing was the fact that he seemed to have wanted to kiss me but then he had ran off.

Why had he ran away? What was it about me that drove men away?

I lowered myself down onto my shins and sat for a while, staring intently at the wall as though that would get me any answers. I picked myself up and walked the rest of the way to the Gryffindor common room in a daze.

I didn't see hide nor hair of Ron the whole time.

DRACO'S POV:

I wasn't sure exactly why I had ran. I just felt like I shouldn't have been there at that time. I shouldn't have been with her. It was an undeniable urge. And it had given me time to think.

I had finally kissed her. But now, I was complicating her life by being in it. I was causing problems for her and Weasel-bee.

I didn't want her to have to give anything up for me. I wanted to be good for her. Like Weasley was.

But I never could be; I was a Malfoy. My father expected me to be a death-eater in the future and on top of that, I was the arch nemesis of Potter (not counting Lord Voldemort). I couldn't belong with her no matter how much I wished otherwise. It was time to face reality.

I would tell her exactly how I felt about her and then I would leave her alone. I knew she couldn't feel the same. She might've said she liked me, but it wouldn't be enough.

I laid in my bed and stared at the ceiling, trying desperately to sort through the tidal wave of emotions overcoming me. I was only giving myself a headache, so I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the pain.

I fell asleep.

RON'S POV:

I knew it was stupid and selfish of me to want her and to be so overprotective when it came to other guys with her… But I couldn't help it. I felt like, after all of these years of being just her friend and wanting to be more, I had staked some kind of psychological claim on her.

But then there was Lavender. I was sure she didn't feel near as strongly about me and Lavender as I did about her and Malfoy, but I knew it still did get to her.

'You need to get over her!' came a small voice in my head. That voice had been acting up lately… Maybe I needed psychiatric help.

I needed to talk to Hermione.

I sat in my room all day, staring at the ceiling, looking for answers there. The entire time, all I got were some bits of upraised spackle, shadows thrown across the ceiling, and the occasional fly.

When I finally fell asleep, I had the worst nightmare I've had since the one about being covered in spiders and not being able to find my way out when I was 7.

I was standing in the middle of the hallway beside the astrology tower again. I heard voices coming from the other side of the door and this time, I knew who it was immediately. I walked in, somehow already knowing that they couldn't see me.

Draco stood, facing the window with his face in his hands and he looked like he might be crying.

Hermione stepped out of the shadows and reached a hand up to rest it on his shoulder.

"Oh, Draco." she said, sympathy thick in her voice.

He turned halfway back to her, his eyes red and his smile bittersweet. I didn't want to see Malfoy this way. Vulnerable. It was harder to think of him as the horrible person we all knew and hated. It was harder to blame Hermione for wanting to trust him.

Hermione left her hand on his shoulder, but moved to face him in the light from the window.

"Thank you." Malfoy said, placing one of his hands over hers on his shoulder and squeezing it gently.

They stood there staring in each other's eyes for a long while. It seemed as though nothing was going on, but I could feel it in the air like a tangible force. They were about to do something I would hate myself for sticking around to watch. But I couldn't make my feet move.

Both pairs of eyes went unfocused and I tried to close my eyes, but I couldn't even blink. Malfoy's hand snaked its way behind her neck and brought his mouth crashing down on hers.

The stupid kiss only lasted about 5 seconds, but it hurt as if it had been 5 hours.

He kept his hand cradling her cheek and they had their foreheads rested against each other. He rubbed his thumb in circles over the soft skin of her cheek.

I could feel the heat of my anger burning hotter and hotter with each second.

"Draco?" she said softly.

I hated when she called him that. Like they were friends.

"Yes?" he whispered raggedly.

"I love you." she said, kissing him once more on the cheek and then dashing from the room.

He stood still, staring out the door after her, his hand lingering softly on the spot where she had kissed him.

"I love you, too, Hermione." he whispered so quietly I had to strain to hear him.

Even in my dreams, I had to sit back and watch helplessly as their love grew.


	11. My Happy Ending

DRACO'S POV:

The next morning, I got ready for class and then walked to the library, not quite ready to head to the great hall yet and subconsciously hoping to see Hermione. This had become our meeting point of sorts. I pulled out a book, not paying attention to the title, and started thumbing through the pages. Then I heard an indignant huff from behind me. I turned and saw Hermione, red-cheeked and bushy-haired. I smiled a little to myself and went to talk to her.

"Draco." she said, smiling at me in greeting.

My heart thudded unevenly for a second before finally steadying out. "Hermione. I need to talk to you." I said, my voice nearly imitating that of a businessman.

"Okay." she nodded.

"I mean… I need to talk to you. In private." I said, motioning for the door.

"Oh! Okay." she said, gathering her bag and wand and walking out into the hallway with me.

I led her into a corner by a set of stairs that was rarely used by anyone.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, leaning back against the wall beside me.

I reached a hand out to push a strand of hair back out of her eyes and looked straight into them, feeling the immense pressure her gaze put on my heart. I tried desperately to get my breathing under control, but so far it wasn't working, so I just began talking.

"I really need to tell you something. But I don't know how to tell you… I've never had to do this before. I-I really like you a lot, Hermione. More than I should. But, I know that my family and friends wouldn't approve and neither would your friends. I'm prepared to leave you alone and completely forget about all of this." I said, motioning between us to indicate the odd relationship that had grown recently.

She started to shake her head, looking confused.

"Well, I guess… that's all." I said, dropping my hand and turning away. She didn't make any move to stop me, so I continued walking. I tried to convince myself that leaving her alone would be good for her as well as for myself. Maybe I was stopping what I already felt from growing even more. Maybe if I left her alone, I would get over this little school-boy crush on her.

Steve said from the back of my head, "Its not _just_ some school-boy crush."

I ignored him, thinking, "Nobody likes you, Steve."

HERMIONE'S POV:

I watched his retreating back, unsurprised but still chagrined. The back of my eyes pricked and I fought the urge to let a few tears spill silently down my cheek. I had known from the beginning that I couldn't be with him, and in the beginning I hadn't wanted to. But now I wasn't sure what it was I DID want.

The tears never came, much to my relief, and the 2 weeks after the events in the hall went on in a very bland, boring manner, without any sight of Draco but for meals where he didn't bother looking up. Nothing happened in between the small gaps of time that I wasn't using for studying or eating or talking very little to Harry and Ron. Every day I tried to appear as though nothing was wrong.

But every night when I laid down, I couldn't help the tears that fell and soaked small circular spots on my pillow-case. I couldn't help the fierce ache in my heart. Couldn't help that Draco didn't want me.

RON'S POV:

Something was different about Hermione. It was a scary difference. She hardly talked and when she did, it was only a few words that could have belonged to any other topic. She didn't pay much attention to anything and she filled her time with studying. I missed hearing her really get into a conversation and listening as she corrected every mispronounced word, I missed the eager spark in her eyes at any challenge of wits, I missed the sight of her throwing her head back in resplendent laughter. There was a whole long list of things like this. Things I loved about her. And I could guess why they had been taken away.

I looked up across the Great Hall and directly into the cold slate eyes of Draco Malfoy. He looked curious, whether it was as to why I hadn't even touched my food or why I was looking at him I couldn't tell.

I nodded toward the door of the Great Hall slightly and under notice. He understood and nodded, standing up without complaint from his surrounding Slytherin friends. When I stood up, Harry looked at me and cocked a brow.

"Leave your appetite in the hall, Ron?"

I put on a fake smile and said, "Something like that." Then I turned and walked out into the hall.

He was standing leaned up against the wall with something like resignation written clear across his pinched features.

"What do you want, Weasley?" he asked, his expression drawing to agony. "Do you want me to stop seeing Granger? Fine. I've already told her we cant be together. I never would have thought that not being able to be with Hermione Granger would have bothered me quite this much, but it does! I want her more than I've ever wanted anything and for once in my life, its for an unselfish reason. I want to make her happy. I want her for her own good. I want to BE good. I want to be like you!"

I could only stare wide-eyed as Draco poured out his heart. It was shocking to hear that the boy that had tormented and picked on both me and Hermione now wanted a relationship with her and to be more like me.

"But I cant do that. My side has been picked for me." he sounded so melancholy that I started to argue.

I actually wanted to make him feel better! What was going on with this crazy school? Was there a gas leak somewhere?

"Your father cant make all of your decisions for you." I said, my voice quiet.

He looked up then, as if realizing for the first time that I was standing here. "Its not that simple." he said after a long pause.

"Why does everyone always say that? It can be." I said, suddenly exasperated from hearing that tired old line.

He looked at me through eyes narrowed in suspicion and said, "What's gotten into you Weasley?"

I shook my head, shrugging. "You made Hermione happier than I remember seeing her. If being with you is the only way to make her smile again, I figure we've got nothing to lose since you seem to be turning over a new leaf."

His eyes popped open wide for a moment and then he stared at the space where the wall and the floor connected, seeming unsure of himself; another new trait in him.

He may not have noticed, but my heart was breaking. I could feel it ripping slowly down the middle. The thought of giving Hermione up to Malfoy had seemed revolting just a day ago, but I was starting to see that he actually cared. It was hard for me to accept, but I knew I could never be right for Hermione with as much as I had hurt her recently. I loved her more than I had ever loved anything, but they say if you love something, you have to let it go. So I could stand to let my heart get broken if it meant she would be happy.

Seeing that he was closer to the decision I wanted him to make, I smiled lightly and said, "Besides, I don't think you were much cut out for being a death eater."

He smiled brightly and nodded, standing straighter and only running down the hall after my prompting.

Watching him run to her, I felt half of my heart sever itself from the rest. That half would always be hers and would stay with her. The other half would be with the girl I was mildly annoyed with at the moment but would learn to love.

DRACO'S POV:

I ran up to the Gryffindor common room and walked up to the girl's dorm where only Hermione was sleeping, her body rising and falling lightly with her deep breathing. I tiptoed over and sat on the edge, careful not to jostle the bed any. I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

She jumped and thrashed about, flailing arms and legs into a tangle of limbs and sheets. Then she caught sight of me and her sleep-worn face turned to relief. Then she looked at me angrily. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

I supposed I deserved that and started explaining. "I had a talk with Weasley. He gave me some very good advice." I decided to ignore her surprised gasp. "He told me I shouldn't let what my father wants for me affect what I want. Well basically anyway. His way of explaining it was much less tediously worded. At any rate, I've realized he's right. I can deal with the hostility of our classmates, and I want to join you and your friends in your cause against Voldemort. I don't want to help my father destroy you. Because I cant live without you. I love you too much."

Her eyes watered and both of her hands covered her mouth. I waited for her to say something, anything, but she just sat and stared at me with wonder and happiness. Finally, she threw her arms around me and whispered in my ear, "I love you too, Draco."

I pulled my head back and kissed her, this time not afraid that what we could be, what we now were was wrong. I could give happiness to someone. The thought made something warm flood my face. I was blushing? I laugh against her mouth at the thought.

"What?" she asked.

I smiled and lied, saying, "Tomorrow… You get to explain all of this to Potter."

THE END


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